A brief primer on what white privilege is — and isn’t When I first saw the term “white privilege” being used commonly in discussions on…
Standing watch
At 3:00 a.m., the only sounds in the church are the shifting winds outside, whispering insistently through the fir trees, now and then eliciting a…
Ukraine VI: Putin the Ploughman
The Ukraine situation, sixth observation It looks like any one of a hundred semi-rural towns scattered throughout the Pacific Northwest. Modest, single-family homes lining quiet…
The definition of an extraordinary woman
She was confirmed. You know deep down she deserved confirmation. Ketanji Brown Jackson is, after all, a woman of great professionalism, accomplishment and dignity. She…
The reek of retribution
When it seems like pretty much everyone is actively looking for something to stoke their rage, sometimes it’s satisfying to see a complainer get his…
The award for hypocrisy goes to…
Ah, awards season. It’s that special time of year when people who have fame, money and power celebrate the talent that earns them all that…
A moral failure
When reports emerge of a teenager doing something reckless, careless or just stupid, my Republican friends are often the first to demand accountability from lazy…
Ukraine V: A falling tsar
The Ukraine situation, fifth observation “…a shattered visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command…” —Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley It was…
The toaster
In my twenties, I was part of a group of friends who were united by shared tastes and interests, you know, the usual things that…
Ukraine IV: Prelude to World War III?
A highly simplified crash course on the situation in Ukraine, fourth analysis The whole thing reads like a soap opera. It’s got intrigue, jealousy, backstabbing,…